Referring to FIG. 1, a first deck plank 10 can be attached to an underlying joist 12 or other support member using a hidden fastener 14, as disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/717,395 by Martel. In the past, as shown in FIG. 2, the hidden fastener 14 was manually positioned with a forwardly projecting wing 16 of the fastener engaging a lateral groove 18 formed along the plank 10 at one edge and with an attachment opening 20, formed in a main body 22 of the fastener, overlying the joist 12. With one hand, a worker would hold the fastener in position against the plank and the joist, while with the other hand, the worker would drive a screw or a similar securing member 24 into the joist through the attachment opening 20. A series of the fasteners engaging the lateral groove 18 would secure the one edge of the plank to the underlying joist. A worker then would install a second grooved plank in the same manner adjacent the first plank, with a lateral groove of the second plank fitted over the rearwardly projecting wings 26 of the fasteners of the first plank, so that the secured fasteners would be hidden between the adjacent planks.
Positioning the hidden fasteners by hand and driving the securing members into the joists is a labor-intensive process that becomes both tedious and costly when several hundred fasteners need to be installed. For example, more than eight hundred (800) fasteners are needed for a thirty (30) foot by fifteen (15) foot deck. As shown in FIG. 2, a power tool can be used for driving the securing members. However, manual positioning of the fasteners still requires significant time and also requires the worker to hold the fasteners with his hand near the working end of the power tool as the securing members are driven into the joists. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an apparatus and a method for installation of hidden fasteners in rapid fashion and without positioning the fasteners by hand near the working end of a power tool.